Daily Prayer, Sunday, November 4, 2012

The Lord will reign forever,

your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord!

Morning
Invitatory Psalm 24
The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
for he has founded it on the seas,
   and established it on the rivers.

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
   who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
   and do not swear deceitfully.
They will receive blessing from the Lord,
   and vindication from the God of their salvation.
Such is the company of those who seek him,
   who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
   that the King of glory may come in.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
   the Lord, mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O gates!
   and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
   that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah

Psalm 147
Praise the Lord!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
   for he is gracious,
   and a song of praise is fitting.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted,
   and binds up their wounds.

He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.

The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;
he casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre.

He covers the heavens with clouds,
   prepares rain for the earth,
   makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the animals their food,
   and to the young ravens when they cry.

His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
   nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
   in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
He grants peace within your borders;
he fills you with the finest of wheat.
He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down hail like crumbs—
   who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
   they do not know his ordinances. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 148
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
   and you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
   for he commanded and they were created.
He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
  you sea monsters and all deeps,
  fire and hail, snow and frost,
  stormy wind fulfilling his command!
  Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
  Wild animals and all cattle,
  creeping things and flying birds!
  Kings of the earth and all peoples,
  princes and all rulers of the earth!
  Young men and women alike, old and young together!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
   for his name alone is exalted;
   his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
   praise for all his faithful,
    for the people of Israel who are close to him.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 149
Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
   his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing,
   making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.

For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with victory.

Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their couches.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats
    and two-edged swords in their hands,
    to execute vengeance on the nations
       and punishment on the peoples,
    to bind their kings with fetters
        and their nobles with chains of iron,
    to execute on them the judgment decreed.

This is glory for all his faithful ones.
Praise the Lord!

Daily Lectionary Reading, Hebrews 9:11-14

11 But Christ has appeared as the high priest of the good things that have happened. He passed through the greater and more perfect meeting tent, which isn’t made by human hands (that is, it’s not a part of this world). 12 He entered the holy of holies once for all by his own blood, not by the blood of goats or calves, securing our deliverance for all time. 13 If the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkled ashes of cows made spiritually contaminated people holy and clean, 14 how much more will the blood of Jesus wash our consciences clean from dead works in order to serve the living God? He offered himself to God through the eternal Spirit as a sacrifice without any flaw.

[Common English Bible]

Prayer for Today: God, the giver of all gifts, we turn to you today in gratitude for the great gift of your Son. His sacrifice secured our deliverance. As we contemplate his life and example to us, inspire us now to serve you. Amen.

Evening
Psalms 144
Bless the LORD, my rock,
who taught my hands how to fight,
who taught my fingers how to do battle!
God is my loyal one, my fortress,
my place of safety, my rescuer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
and the one who subdues
people before me.

What are human beings, LORD,
that you know them at all?
What are human beings
that you even consider them?
Humans are like a puff of air;
their days go by like a shadow.

LORD, part your skies and come down!
Touch the mountains so they smoke!
Flash lightning and scatter the enemy!
Shoot your arrows and defeat them!
Stretch out your hand from above!
Rescue me and deliver me
from deep water,
from the power of strangers,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose strong hand is
a strong hand of deception!

I will sing a new song to you, God.
I will sing praises to you
on a ten-stringed harp,
to you—the one
who gives saving help to rulers,
and who rescues his servant David from the evil sword.

Rescue me and deliver me
from the power of strangers,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose strong hand
is a strong hand of deception,
so that our sons can grow up fully,
in their youth, like plants;
so that our daughters can be like pillars
   carved to decorate a palace;
so that our barns can be full,
providing all kinds of food;
so that our flocks can be
in the thousands—
even tens of thousands—in our fields;
so that our cattle can be loaded
with calves;
so that there won’t be any breach
in the walls,
no exile, no outcries in our streets!

The people who have it like this
are truly happy!
The people whose God is the LORD
are truly happy!
[Common English Bible]

Psalm 145
I will lift you up high, my God, the true king.
I will bless your name forever and always.
I will bless you every day.
I will praise your name forever and always.
The LORD is great and so worthy of praise!
God’s greatness can’t be grasped.
One generation will praise your works to the next one,
   proclaiming your mighty acts.
They will talk all about the glorious splendor of your majesty;
I will contemplate your wondrous works.
They will speak of the power of your awesome deeds;
I will declare your great accomplishments.
They will rave in celebration of your abundant goodness;
they will shout joyfully about your righteousness:
“The LORD is merciful and compassionate,
   very patient, and full of faithful love.
The LORD is good to everyone and everything;
God’s compassion extends to all his handiwork!”
All that you have made gives thanks to you, LORD;
all your faithful ones bless you!
They speak of the glory of your kingdom;
they talk all about your power,
   to inform all human beings  about God’s power
   and the majestic glory of God’s kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingship that lasts forever;
your rule endures for all generations.
The LORD is trustworthy in all that he says,
   faithful in all that he does.
The LORD supports all who fall down,
   straightens up all who are bent low.
All eyes look to you, hoping,
    and you give them their food right on time,
opening your hand and satisfying the desire
   of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways,
   faithful in all his deeds.
The LORD is close to everyone who calls out to him,
   to all who call out to him sincerely.
God shows favor to those who honor him,
   listening to their cries for help and saving them.
The LORD protects all who love him,
but he destroys every wicked person.
My mouth will proclaim the LORD’s praise,
and every living thing will bless God’s holy name
   forever and always.
[Common  English Bible]

Extension of covenant, a Reflection on Ruth 1:1-18

The famine in Judah had driven Elimelech and his family to Moab. To Moab? Moab, the enemy of the Israelites as they entered into the Promised Land. Moab's king, Balak, was the one who hired Balaam to curse them (although that didn't work out the way Balak wanted; see Numbers 22-24.) After settlement, Moab was still their enemy. Under King Eglon, Moab controlled the Israelites for eighteen years (see Judges 3 for how this ended.)

Elimelech took his family to Moab. The place that has been your enemy has become your refuge. His sons married wives from Moab. Enemies become rescuers. Enemies become relatives.

Elimelech and his two sons die. His wife realizes that she has to go back to Judah. Her Moab family are daughters, and it is sons who have the responsibility to care for widows. She advises her widowed daughters-in-law to return to their families where they will have a chance of getting remarried.

One takes her advice. The other, Ruth, does not.

Ruth, the Moabite, refuses to abandon her mother-in-law even if that means she will have to go to a country that has been her country's enemy, even if it means giving up her family.

Phyllis Trible points out that only Abraham had made this radical a move.

Allen & Williamson in their Preaching the Old Testament, stress the importance of covenant. Having made covenant with her husband, Ruth has now extended covenant to her mother-in-law and to what is her mother-in-law's. They ask:

What would it take for today's congregation to make a Ruth-like commitment to the Naomis of the world?

Daily Prayer, Saturday, November 3, 2012

The Lord watches over the strangers

and upholds the orphan and the widow

Morning
Invitatory Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us
   and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
   for you judge the peoples with equity
   and guide the nations upon earth. Selah

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.


Psalm 141
I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly to me;
   give ear to my voice when I call to you.
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
   and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not turn my heart to any evil,
   to busy myself with wicked deeds in company
   with those who work iniquity;
do not let me eat of their delicacies.

Let the righteous strike me;
let the faithful correct me.

Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,
   for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,
   then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land,
   so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.

But my eyes are turned toward you, O God, my Lord;
   in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.
Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me,
   and from the snares of evildoers.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I alone escape.

Psalm 146
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals,
   in whom there is no help.
When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
   on that very day their plans perish.

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
   whose hope is in the Lord their God,
   who made heaven and earth, the sea,
       and all that is in them;
   who keeps faith forever;
   who executes justice for the oppressed;
   who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,
   but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion,
   for all generations.
Praise the Lord!

Daily Lectionary Readings,
Ruth 1:1-18

 During the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. A man with his wife and two sons went from Bethlehem of Judah to dwell in the territory of Moab. 2 The name of that man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the territory of Moab and settled there.

3 But Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died. Then only she was left, along with her two sons. 4 They took wives for themselves, Moabite women; the name of the first was Orpah and the name of the second was Ruth. And they lived there for about ten years.

5 But both of the sons, Mahlon and Chilion, also died. Only the woman was left, without her two children and without her husband.

6 Then she arose along with her daughters-in-law to return from the field of Moab, because while in the territory of Moab she had heard that the LORD had paid attention to his people by providing food for them. 7 She left the place where she had been, and her two daughters-in-law went with her. They went along the road to return to the land of Judah.

8 Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, “ Go, turn back, each of you to the household of your mother. May the LORD deal faithfully with you, just as you have done with the dead and with me. 9 May the LORD provide for you so that you may find security, each woman in the household of her husband. ” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.

10 But they replied to her, “ No, instead we will return with you, to your people. ”

11 Naomi replied, “ Turn back, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Will there again be sons in my womb, that they would be husbands for you? 12 Turn back, my daughters. Go. I am too old for a husband. If I were to say that I have hope, even if I had a husband tonight, and even more, if I were to bear sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you refrain from having a husband? No, my daughters. This is more bitter for me than for you, since the LORD ’s will has come out against me. ”

14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth stayed with her. 15 Naomi said, “ Look, your sister-in-law is returning to her people and to her gods. Turn back after your sister-in-law. ”

16 But Ruth replied, “ Don’t urge me to abandon you, to turn back from following after you. Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD do this to me and more so if even death separates me from you. ” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.

Psalm 146

Praise the LORD ! Let my whole being (z) praise the LORD ! 2 I will praise the LORD with all my life; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live. 3 Don’t trust leaders; don’t trust any human beings— there’s no saving help with them! 4 Their breath leaves them, then they go back to the ground. On that very same day, their plans die too. 5 The person whose help is the God of Jacob— the person whose hope rests on the LORD their God— is truly happy! 6 God: the maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, God: who is faithful forever, 7 who gives justice to people who are oppressed, who gives bread to people who are starving! The LORD : who frees prisoners. 8 The LORD : who makes the blind see. The LORD : who straightens up those who are bent low. The LORD : who loves the righteous. 9 The LORD : who protects immigrants, who helps orphans and widows, but who makes the way of the wicked twist and turn! 10 The LORD will rule forever! Zion, your God will rule from one generation to the next! Praise the LORD ! _________________________________________________ z Or soul
[Common English Bible]

Prayer for Today: Choose a prayer from Joan Stott's website Timeless Psalms

Evening
Psalm 140
Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;
protect me from those who are violent,
   who plan evil things in their minds
   and stir up wars continually.
They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
   and under their lips is the venom of vipers. Selah

Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
protect me from the violent who have planned my downfall.
The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
   and with cords they have spread a net,
   along the road they have set snares for me. Selah

I say to the Lord, “You are my God;
give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.”
O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
   you have covered my head in the day of battle.
Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
do not further their evil plot. Selah

….
I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy,
   and executes justice for the poor.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall live in your presence.

Psalm 142
With my voice I cry to the Lord;
with my voice I make supplication to the Lord.
I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.

When my spirit is faint, you know my way.
In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.
Look on my right hand and see—
   there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for me.

I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
   my portion in the land of the living.”
Give heed to my cry,
   for I am brought very low.
Save me from my persecutors,
   for they are too strong for me.
Bring me out of prison,
   so that I may give thanks to your name.

The righteous will surround me,
   for you will deal bountifully with me.

Psalm 143
Hear my prayer, O Lord;
give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;
answer me in your righteousness.
Do not enter into judgment with your servant,
   for no one living is righteous before you.
For the enemy has pursued me,
   crushing my life to the ground,
   making me sit in darkness like those long dead.
Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.
I remember the days of old,
I think about all your deeds,
I meditate on the works of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
   or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
   for in you I put my trust.

Teach me the way I should go,
   for to you I lift up my soul.
Save me, O Lord, from my enemies;
I have fled to you for refuge.
Teach me to do your will,
   for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.

For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life.
In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.
In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,
   and destroy all my adversaries, for I am your servant.

Daily Exercise, a Reflection on Deuteronomy 6:1-9

The events described in the book of Deuteronomy take place during the wilderness years between slavery in Egypt and entry into the land promised to them. But, the book itself was written long after this--and rewritten as crises in their life had to be faced.

We still face crises--national and personal. We still need to hear Moses' sermons and admonitions.

"Listen," he says to them--and to all who come after them, including us.

"Do what the Lord has commanded you to do. Teach your children to live this way. God's instruction for you is intended to help you have the kind of life that is best."

They get the gift first--here, land--and they respond by remembering who is the source of their gift.

Telling about the gift and the giver every day will help the people who hear us to know and to remember, and it certainly will help us to do the same.